


Of Altean Candle-Light, Birthday Cakes, and Dancing

by crystalklances



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Birthday Date, Dancing, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Season 4 Spoilers, Set in canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 18:30:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12463431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crystalklances/pseuds/crystalklances
Summary: Keith didn't tell anyone about his birthday, not wanting to be a bother. But Lance knows, and takes matters into his own hands to prepare a birthday date for Keith.





	Of Altean Candle-Light, Birthday Cakes, and Dancing

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Birthday, Keith! This is one of two pieces I wrote for the occasion. I actually didn't write this one until yesterday, writing it in the late morning and early afternoon.
> 
> It's just an excuse for fluffy Klance, but Keith deserves it. I hope you enjoy!

Keith had never expected anything for his birthday, but he especially didn’t now that he was in outer space. _Especially_ now that he was a full-fledged member of the Blade instead of a paladin. Even if they were all currently present at the castle ship and there currently wasn’t a mission for him.

He wasn’t even sure how the whole ‘tracking time that passes on Earth’-thing worked, let alone anyone knowing about his birthday in the first place. He also didn’t want to cause an inconvenience. So when one day, Pidge announced that it was Halloween soon, Keith didn’t point out that his birthday was about a week earlier, on October 23. He didn’t want anyone to make a fuss and have to go out of their way just because he was growing a year older. He wasn’t that important.

And so, Keith didn’t think anything of it when Lance took him aside and asked: “You’re free right now, right? Come hang out with me.”

Keith held back the roll of his eyes. “What about you? Shouldn’t you be busy right now?”

The former blue, now red paladin shrugged and grinned. “Everything’s about Hunk and Pidge’s expertise at the moment, with Matt helping them. And besides, my charm is needed elsewhere.”

“And so you came to me, of all people?” Keith raised an eyebrow.

“No questions, just follow me.”

“Alright, alright. I’m coming. No need to pull my sleeve.”

Truth be told, Keith wasn’t sure why he had changed out of his Marmora suit for the moment. Maybe it was to remind himself that he was still also part human, that there was a life outside of his identity as a member of the Blade. Now, he was glad about it; wearing his regular clothes while spending time with Lance gave everything almost a sense of normalcy.

He had no idea where Lance was taking him, and Lance wasn’t saying anything, just humming a tune under his breath. Keith chanced a glance at Lance’s face, admiring the excited smile. He wondered just what it was that got Lance so excited, and why it seemed that Keith was such an integral part of it. Either way, it made his heart beat faster, knowing that Lance wanted to spend time with _him_ , out of anyone.

Eventually, they came to a stop in front of a room somewhere in the castle that Keith didn’t often go to. He raised an eyebrow. What could Lance want here?

He watched as Lance opened the door and when they entered, Keith stopped in his tracks.

The room was illuminated with soft lights that vaguely resembled candles. In the middle of the room stood a table, set for two. It would almost look like a candle-light dinner for two with a fancy dish, if it wasn’t for the cake and what might be coffee next to the plate of bite-sized snacks.

Keith stared at Lance, who was watching him, suddenly with an air of nerves. Keith looked at the table, then back at Lance, and asked: “Lance, what is the meaning of this?”

“Well, I know that you probably didn’t want any attention, but I know it’s your birthday, so I took matters into my own hands,” Lance replied.

Oh. So much for thinking that it wasn’t an obligation. Still—Lance had been so excited as he dragged Keith along. He had probably spent time preparing the setting. And … if Keith was honest, he felt flattered, thinking that Lance did all of this for him, even if Keith felt weird about celebrating his birthday.

Lance was rocking back and forth on his heels, waiting for Keith to say something. Eventually, Lance said, voice soft: “You don’t have to stay if you don’t like this. I just—I just thought I’d treat you to something nice, because you’ve been seeming down recently and I—I haven’t been as good of a friend as I should have been. So, uh, yeah.”

Finally, Keith snapped out of his thoughts to give a reaction. He smiled. “You didn’t have to, but while we’re already here, let’s do this.”

Watching the nervousness seem to melt from Lance and seeing the bright smile grow on his face was a treat alone to Keith. Lance took his arm once more. “Let’s sit down, then!”

They got seated, and as Keith looked at the table in front of him and glanced at the light sources again, it occurred to him that this was usually the kind of atmosphere you would expect from a romantic date. He shrugged the thought aside. Instead, he asked: “How did you even know about my birthday?”

Lance just shrugged. “That’s not really important, is it? What matters is that we’re here now. So, let’s dig in!” He smiled and already reached out to grab a snack.

Keith followed suit, tentatively taking a bite. The snack was sort of like pizza rolls, except that it was whichever alien foods they had in their supplies. Still, it tasted great. Keith wondered if Lance had done everything himself, or if he had had help. He didn’t know if this was the right thing to ask, though, so he didn’t.

For a moment, they sat eating in comfortable silence. Eventually, Lance spoke up, as if he had read Keith’s mind. “I did everything myself. I wanted to keep it a secret. I wanted this to be just—just the two of us. I wanted to make it special.”

“So—this is a date?” Keith asked, eyebrow raised.

Lance blushed. “I, uh, I was aiming more for ‘bonding activity,’ but…”

“Lance, you decorated the room with what looks like Altean candles or whatever they are—”

“They are Altean candles, yes,” Lance interrupted.

“You decorated the room with Altean candles, like a candlelight dinner. If I’m not mistaken, that’s something with romantic intent.”

Lance remained flustered but didn’t deny it.

Keith smirked. “You could have just asked if you wanted a date. Though I guess the element of surprise has its charm. I really didn’t expect that anyone would do something for me.”

“And that’s exactly why I had to do it,” Lance mumbled. “I—I wanted to get closer to you. I want you to be happy.”

Keith’s smile softened at hearing those words. “Thank you, Lance.”

The smile that Lance shot him in return made his heart skip a beat.

They continued to eat and drink, making smalltalk, just enjoying each other’s presence and ignoring the intergalactic war for a while. Lance talked about how birthday celebrations usually happened in his family, and Keith admitted that he couldn’t remember if he ever had a proper birthday party.

“When we’re back on Earth, you better believe that I’m gonna host a real party for you,” Lance announced after that.

Keith smiled. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Eventually, they had eaten all of the alien pizza rolls, and Lance cut the cake. Keith noticed that underneath the red frosting, it was bright blue. Keith figured that it was probably mere coincidence, but still, he liked the combination.

Keith couldn’t tell the exact moment, but at some point, soft music had started to play in the room. The piano melody only served to build onto the mood.

When they were done with cake as well, they sat in silence for another moment. Keith wasn’t sure what to label it, but there was a kind of tension in the air as they held gazes. Lance seemed like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. Maybe it was the music, maybe he was able to read between the lines, Keith couldn’t quite tell—but an idea formed in his mind.

And so, he asked: “Wanna dance?”

Lance broke into soft laughter. “Did you just read my mind?”

“So that’s a yes?”

“Yes.” Lance smiled. “Let’s dance.”

They stood at the same time and moved to the free space of the room in perfect sync. Keith had no idea what he was doing, but they started to dance, finding a perfect rhythm of lead and follow between the two of them. The music seemed to sense they were dancing and increased in volume. The room seemed to glow brighter.

Was there magic at work, or was it just the romantic atmosphere playing tricks on his mind? Keith didn’t know, and it didn’t matter. What mattered was how close he was to Lance at this wonderful moment, how their heartbeats seemed to align as they twirled to the rhythm.

Somewhere in the middle, their faces were barely an inch apart. Keith couldn’t tell who made the first move, but their lips touched. It was cliché but, well, there were fireworks behind Keith’s eyelids and all over his body. It was nice. He hoped that Lance felt the same.

He didn’t know how long their dance lasted, but eventually, they slowed down to gentle swaying in each other’s arms. Keith didn’t want the moment to end. The music slowly faded away, and the lights dimmed. The magic was over, and they stopped. Their gazes were still locked.

“Happy Birthday, Keith,” Lance murmured softly.

“Thank you,” Keith murmured back. “For all of this.”

Lance’s only response was a smile.

Out of nowhere, there was an announcement on the comms, calling everyone to the bridge. Keith and Lance sighed in unison.

“Well, let’s go, then,” Keith said.

“Yeah.”

They left the room. Keith felt warm all over. He had never known that it could be this nice to celebrate your birthday. That it could be this nice to have someone who would want to spend it with you. Sure, things weren’t easy right now, and a lot was going on for Keith, but right in this instance, he felt happy. He wanted to hold onto it for as long as he could.

He linked hands with Lance. At least until they reached everyone else, Keith wanted to hold onto him.

When they reached the bridge, Keith stopped Lance to whisper into his ear: “Next time, I’ll be the one organizing our date.”

Lance broke into a grin. “I can’t wait.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on [twitter](http://twitter.com/crystalklances) and [tumblr](http://crystalklances.tumblr.com)!


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